The runaway success of Chelsea Clinton’s She Persisted has ushered in a golden age of children’s books about inspiring real-life women. No matter...

April 1, 2018

Bonding with baby!

By Kaitlin Ungs

Kaitlin Ungs is a 20-something Midwest gal who loves kids, the outdoors, travel, art, and books of all kinds. Find her and her social media at kaitlinungs.com.

Kids are never too young to read. In fact, research shows that reading to children of all ages — even infants — helps boost speech and vocabulary (as well as overall brain development). Even better, it provides a chance for parents to just hang out and bond with their babies without the tasks of feeding and diapering taking center stage.

Discover a range of human emotions with this chunky board book filled with happy, sad, silly, surprised and even angry babies. In the back, there’s a mirror for Baby to try imitating different facial expressions.

Rip-proof, chew-proof, washable and written just for babies, the latest round of baby-proof books — four in all — from Indestructibles are colorful, cute and, as promised, tear-resistant, too! We can’t get over the cute sea otters on the front of Love You, Baby, which explains all the special ways parents can show affection. See also: Baby Animals, Things That Go! and Welcome, Baby.

Celebrate spring and mothers — maybe for Mother’s Day? — with this homage to moms, showcasing sweet sayings and colorful collaged animal illustrations from Eric Carle. Look closely and you can spot The Very Hungry Caterpillar on every single spread!

One dark evening, Skunk and Possum get spooked and start a chain reaction of bigger and bigger animals, all hiding in the woods because they’re afraid of night noises and things in the dark — which is silly, because they’re hiding from … themselves!